West Virginia governor wants to pay utilities to burn coal from the region

COAL: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s plan to boost the regional coal industry — saying it is a matter of national security — includes paying utilities $15 for each ton of coal they burn from fields in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. (West Virginia MetroNews)

ALSO: Two grants were awarded in Kentucky as part of the 2016 Abandoned Mine Lands program to revitalize coalfields in the state. (WMKY)

OIL & GAS: Roughly 175 people attended a state-hosted public hearing on Monday about drilling off North Carolina’s coast, with the majority opposing a proposed federal offshore leasing program. (Coastal Review Online)

CLIMATE:
• A draft federal climate change report says the Southeast region has seen the lowest temperature increases in the country, but increases in extreme rain could be mitigated by reductions in carbon emissions. (New York Times, Associated Press)
• As President Trump continues his pledge to revive the nation’s struggling coal industry, the report also shows that burning fossil fuels is driving an increase in heat waves, droughts and floods. (Associated Press)
• Officials in Georgia warn of the impact of climate change on the state following the leaked federal report. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Former South Carolina governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley says she sees no reason why the Trump administration would reject new findings about the impact of climate change. (Post and Courier)
• Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial candidate has a seven-page proposal to address the state’s problems associated with rising sea levels, but it doesn’t mention “climate change,” “global warming” or “carbon emissions.” (Virginian-Pilot)

PIPELINES: Several hundred people attended the first of five statewide public hearings in Virginia about the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (WMRA)

NUCLEAR: South Carolina has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to force the Department of Energy to remove from the state plutonium used to process weapons-grade materials into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. (Associated Press)

SOLAR: Despite the significant amount of solar near the path of the solar eclipse in the Southeast region, grid experts do not expect the eclipse to create reliability issues. (PV Magazine)

EFFICIENCY: Another county in Florida is launching a Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program to assist residents with energy efficiency improvements. (WTXL)

COMMENTARY: The leaked federal report on climate change “should serve as a grim reminder” that unless carbon emissions are reduced, South Florida is in real danger. (Miami New Times)